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Magazine

Mar 18, 2016

Some 650 million people, or one in 10 of the world's population, have no access to safe water, putting them at risk of infectious diseases and premature death. Dirty water and poor sanitation can cause severe diarrhoeal diseases in children, killing 900 under-five a day across the world, according to United Nations estimates. World Water Day, marked this year on March 22, highlights various concerns about the world's water resources, and in 2016 is focusing on how good access to safe water can create paid work and contribute to a greener economy.

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A woman carries jerrycans to fill them with water from a charity tap in Yemen's capital Sanaa, March 7, 2016. KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS